RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
#1RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:34pm
Forgive me if this post is less than competent. I'm still reeling from this afternoon's performance.
Ragtime was the first "serious" musical I ever saw on Broadway. I'd been to shows before, but they were mostly the kind geared towards kids (Beauty and the Beast) or mindless entertainment (Jekyll and Hyde). Ragtime, I can honestly say, changed my life. It was the first transformative theatrical experience I'd ever had, the first time I understood that theatre can hold a mirror to the struggles and triumphs of American life. I've always cherished my memories of the original production and have held the show close to my heart. Needless to say, I had very high hopes for this revival.
I'm pleased to report that they were met in almost every respect.
Ragtime has been the subject of stripped-down productions before: both London and The Papermill Playhouse have seen stagings that substitute black chairs for Evelyn Nesbit's swing and Coalhouse's car and feature no piano onstage. However, Marcia Milgrom Dodge's production strikes the most copacetic balance between full production and deconstruction that I've seen to date. It gives the audience just enough to have them feel that it wasn't done on the cheap, but takes enough away that the focus of the show is squarely where it belongs: on the characters and their lives. The images of music coming out of Coalhouse's glass piano or him walking his Model-T across the stage are striking.
The cast is extraordinary and, on many occasions, made me forget their predecessors (high praise indeed). Christiane Noll's Mother is a rational, deeply intelligent woman stifled by the society in which she lives. To watch her transformation from unknowing housewife to proto-feminist was thrilling, and her "Back to Before" really delivered. Robert Petkoff is everything you'd want from a Tateh, and Bobby Steggert makes The Younger Brother into something more than a quixotic idealist. Quentin Earl Darrington registers the wide variety of Coalhouse's emotions. Only Stephanie Umoh disappoints--though one must admit that Audra McDonald isn't the easiest act to follow. She acts the role well but her singing voice leaves much to be desired.
In short, this is easily the best revival of a musical that Broadway has seen since Doyle's Sweeney Todd. May it have a long life at the Neil Simon--I cannot wait to go back!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Updated On: 11/11/09 at 08:34 PM
#2re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:40pm
"May it have a long life at the Neil Simon"
Well, come hell or high water LOVE NEVER DIES: THE STORY CONTINUES: PHANTOM 2: ELECTRIC KARIMLOO moves in next October with what I'm sure will be an unprecented load-in time scheduled for the supposedly unmatched hi-tech scenic design. 10 months tops is all RAGTIME will have at that theatre.
That doesn't mean it won't move if it is successful enough. Time will tell.
Glad you liked it!
P
Updated On: 11/11/09 at 08:40 PM
#2re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:41pmWell that's f*cking depressing.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#3re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:45pm
If it makes you feel any better, ALW has agreed to split the moving costs with the producers of RAGTIME if it indeed moves when LND comes in. I think that was quite classy of him and he has expressed his appreciation for the score in the past and this magnanimous move reflects that. RAGTIME might not have even come in if not for the scheduled limited run necessitated by the delay of LND which is why ALW is "holding" the theatre, so it may be best to thank LND and ALW rather than damn them in this instance.
P
#4re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:51pm
"Well, come hell or high water LOVE NEVER DIES: THE STORY CONTINUES: PHANTOM 2: ELECTRIC KARIMLOO moves in next October with what I'm sure will be an unprecented load-in time scheduled for the supposedly unmatched hi-tech scenic design. 10 months tops is all RAGTIME will have at that theatre. "
That is not true. If that was true Ragtime would have never moved into the Neil Simon and Love Never Dies can't kick Ragtime out of the theater. And if the set is so high tech then why doesn't it go into a big theater? The Neil Simon is not a very big theater.
#5re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:56pm
Drunk Chita, go look up the threads on LND and read up before you talk about things you show you know nothing about, particularly when you accuse someone of saying things that are "not true" when that is EXACTLY what they are.
P
#6re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:03pmSince when should anyone trust what they read on the boards? Have you ever heard of a rumor?
#7re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:06pm
Did you go back and read the threads? Unless Playbill prints rumors and the ALW quotes are complete fabrications, repeatedly, there is no "rumor" involved with any of this. The only person starting rumors is you in stating LND doesn't have a hold on the Neil Simon for Octobor 2010 no matter what RAGTIME's fate is.
P
#8re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:12pmIf you find me those threads and an official announcement then I will believe you.
#9re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:14pm
What am I, your secretary? YOU are the one questioning the truth and the fact of the matter that has been posted here repeatedly.
P
ETA: call me secretary and "theater still to be named" has been confirmed as the Neil Simon.
One of many articles
Updated On: 11/11/09 at 09:14 PM
#10re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:17pm
Well I tried searching but nothing comes up confirming it and you are convinced that these threads confirm that the show is going in there.
If you are saying that this is true then you have to back up your statement.
#11re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:19pm
And what proof do you have that RAGTIME is not getting kicked out in 10 months if we're so hot on backing up statements?
P
#12re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:19pmDCR, I believe the theater owner's also have a say in this. In the late 70s/early 80s Annie played at the Alvin (now the Neil Simon Theatre). Annie was kicked out to make room for Stephen Sondheim's, "Merrily We Roll Along".
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#14re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:46pmSeems like you enjoyed it just as much as I did! It's a fantastic production of a wonderful show. Although I liked Umoh more than you did; she's no Audra but she did well in the role I thought.
#15re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:54pm
Pgenre, in the first Playbill article it says nothing about the Neil Simon. And the second Riedel article says "probably at the Neil Simon Theatre". That is not a confirmation.
And DottieD'Luscia, as long as the Theater Owners are getting the money they need they won't kick a show out. And plus that was back in the 70s and 80s, it's much different now.
#16re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:02pm
Wicked Rocks, thanks for bringing the thread back to the original topic (not that the side discussion wasn't fun). 
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#18re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:11pm
Stephanie Umoh's no Audra, because she's not Audra Mcdonald. I would make valid points about her performance by not comparing her to another artist. Quentin is not Brian and Noll is not Mazzie. This is a Revival of the show, not the past performances. I see the show on Tuesday, and am going to see "Ragtime" and am not trying to tap into the same place I felt when I saw the show 10 years ago, because sadly that won't happen.
Like the marquee says. Their Time, Our Time, RAGTIME. It's a new time and a new younger generation has stepped into the roles, and it's their time to tell the story. Fortunately no matter who is telling it, when its being told, or who is cast, it's still relevant.
#19re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:16pm
I wasn't trying to compare her to Audra (although the sceptre of Audra's unforgettable performance no doubt hangs over anyone who attempts this role). Audra or not, she just didn't sing the songs the way I like to hear them. Her performance was still perfectly credible.
This is a Revival of the show, not the past performances.
I wouldn't even call it that--it deserves to be called a new production. The only thing it shared with the original production is the score. It goes far deeper.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#20re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:17pmIt's better than the original production, IMO. And uniformly speaking, the cast is better as well. Updated On: 11/11/09 at 10:17 PM
#21re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:20pmI completely agree. While I loved the original production, as I said before, this production delves deeper into the lives of the characters and the story.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#22re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:44pmAC, I love this production as well, and will be making the trip in from DC this weekend specifically to see it again. As much as I liked the original, the Neil Simon serves this show better in a much more intimate way.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
avab802
Broadway Star Joined: 5/17/06
#23re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:56pm
Dottie, I completely agree with your last statement. This show belongs in a smaller, more intimate house. The first time I saw the original production I was in the very last row of the balcony of the (then) Ford Center. Needless to say I couldn't see any facial expressions whatsoever. I still loved the show and was a sobbing mess by the end, but seeing the new production in a smaller house gave me a much greater connection to the characters.
AC, I agree with everything you said, with the exception of your criticism of Stephanie Umoh. No one will ever compare to Audra McDonald, but I thought Umoh did a fine job. I also still prefer Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse. Quentin Earl Darrington was wonderful in his own way, but I prefer Stokes's voice. Other than those two I do think this cast is better. Especially Christiane Noll as Mother; she has a warmth & depth of character that I just didn't get from Mazzie.
I hope this production has a long life, regardless of what theater it's in.
Updated On: 11/11/09 at 10:56 PM
pushdabutton
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/2/05
#24re: RAGTIME sets a new standard for musical revivals
Posted: 11/11/09 at 10:57pmThe more I read about Ragtime on this board, the more I think I need to see it again. I saw it 11 years ago with the original cast and loved it. I'm just trying to justify spending the money on a show I have already seen. It's either going to be Ragtime, Memphis or Superior Donuts.
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